I've gotten a request for a better quality version of this image, but every single one I can see is the same low-quality scan, with the ugly horizontal banding and everything. Worse, not a single resource seems to be able to cite an issue of GamePro or review thereof that produced the image. Does anyone have any information on it?

I just corrected Wikipedia's Cyberdemon page:
"The widespread claim, occurring in many places on the Internet, that this "pro tip" was published by GamePro, however, is erroneous, as it was actually created by Linguica, founder of Doomworld. [8]"

I've always figured the ZDoom scortch marks were meant to be the subtle "tell", as GamePro wouldn't have been reviewing or making player's guides for DOOM by the time ZDoom existed. Also, it's a bit of a troll if you think about it, since it simultaneously proves that people who fall for it don't realize DOOM didn't have scortch mark decals - that, or that they are extremely inobservant.

I myself have found a multitude of places claiming this is authentic and using it as a primo example of poor writing in those guides. I never correct them because I think it is:

First, funny, and

Second, a perfect example of how pseudo-history gets created.

If in 50 years the majority of people think this image is authentic, eventually nobody will know the better and it will join the great ranks of all the other things we take for granted just because somebody told us so.

I just want to point out to whoever edited http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberdemon that it wasn't actually an April Fools prank, I just said that because it was April 1 when I replied to the thread. I'm posting it here as "evidence" of the truth because I don't want to edit the entry and have it reverted as WP:ORIGINALRESEARCH or whatever the hell those horrible misogynist autists call it

Linguica said:
I just want to point out to whoever edited http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberdemon that it wasn't actually an April Fools prank, I just said that because it was April 1 when I replied to the thread. I'm posting it here as "evidence" of the truth because I don't want to edit the entry and have it reverted as WP:ORIGINALRESEARCH or whatever the hell those horrible misogynist autists call it

This is probably the best interpretation of the monkey business that is wikipedia standards.